Latest news with #MelbourneComedyFestival
The Advertiser
18 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Advertiser
The bush tax that dampens travel euphoria and complicates logistics
Voice of Real Australia is a regular newsletter from the local news teams of the ACM network, which stretches into every state and territory. Today's is written by Daily Advertiser deputy editor Daisy Huntly. Last year I made a decision: I was going to do more in 2025. Off the back of the COVID years, the never-ending crunch of the news cycle, an increasingly miserable state cost of work, family and paying the bills, I wasn't really factoring myself in. We spend so much of our lives doing what we think we should do, or what others expect of us, rather than finding the balance when and how we can. So as long as the bills were paid and I was squirrelling even a little bit away, I should have some things to look forward to, right? Great plan. The limitations and logistics of public transport in regional NSW have made for some creative travel plans for the sake of efficiency and stretching a buck. Wagga is absolutely not alone in this - in many ways, it's ideally-placed geographically - and those in regional centres and rural communities know the angst well. I also wasn't expecting the surge of musicians and comedians I love making long-awaited visits Down Under. The cost of live gigs aside, it is increasingly expensive to be a music fan while living anywhere outside a capital city. The tickets are nothing compared to what having one incurs. For a one-way flight out of Wagga, you rarely see change from $200 unless it's booked well ahead of time. As I type this, there are just 12 days of July 2025 you could fly to Melbourne with Qantas for less than $219 - and some days it's almost $500 - and if you were organised and got in now you could get to Sydney for $179 in August. Rex is also in the mix, but with similar challenges. Without a concession, the cheapest train ticket out of Wagga to Sydney or Melbourne is around $67 one way. For what it's worth, I quite enjoy the XPT and it's my preferred way to get to Melbourne (if I was heading to Sydney, different story). But it's obscene the difference 130km and a state line can make - the alternative for a Melbourne journey is to drive to Albury and jump on the V/Line for about $15 return. It's easy to see why many Wagga families choose this option. For solo travellers by the time you factor in driving time, fuel, vehicle wear and tear and leaving the car for a night or two, the XPT's siren song is singing. I've turned everything I was already doing into frequent flyer points, for the times I can't make anything else work transport-wise. I've boosted every supermarket rewards offer that hit my inbox and watched for accommodation deals like a hawk. I've boarded the XPT to Melbourne at 2.30am, carpooled to Canberra, scored last-minute lifts to the V/Line, cashed in those points. I've fit in NRL games, wrestling, the Melbourne Comedy Festival. Tyler Childers, Randy Houser, Chris Stapleton (what a birthday present), Luke Combs, and at least Bliss n Eso, Oasis and Usher to come. The Oasis purchase in particular racked me with guilt. Yet I'd paid utilities bills and didn't feel a twinge of regret. No one ever beats themselves up about that. The feeling of being in the crowd - whether it's from the pit, a seat or the nosebleeds - is unquantifiable and something everyone should be able to enjoy. Even if it takes a bit more planning than it should. I'm chronically aware many others face this travel dilemma constantly, and for more than just one person, for far more serious reasons. For me, it's all short-term, it's only for a year or so, and looking back on who I've seen in the last eight months alone, there's not a single regret - other than not having done it sooner, and maybe not all at once. It's just a shame the regional tax that comes with it is so harsh. Voice of Real Australia is a regular newsletter from the local news teams of the ACM network, which stretches into every state and territory. Today's is written by Daily Advertiser deputy editor Daisy Huntly. Last year I made a decision: I was going to do more in 2025. Off the back of the COVID years, the never-ending crunch of the news cycle, an increasingly miserable state cost of work, family and paying the bills, I wasn't really factoring myself in. We spend so much of our lives doing what we think we should do, or what others expect of us, rather than finding the balance when and how we can. So as long as the bills were paid and I was squirrelling even a little bit away, I should have some things to look forward to, right? Great plan. The limitations and logistics of public transport in regional NSW have made for some creative travel plans for the sake of efficiency and stretching a buck. Wagga is absolutely not alone in this - in many ways, it's ideally-placed geographically - and those in regional centres and rural communities know the angst well. I also wasn't expecting the surge of musicians and comedians I love making long-awaited visits Down Under. The cost of live gigs aside, it is increasingly expensive to be a music fan while living anywhere outside a capital city. The tickets are nothing compared to what having one incurs. For a one-way flight out of Wagga, you rarely see change from $200 unless it's booked well ahead of time. As I type this, there are just 12 days of July 2025 you could fly to Melbourne with Qantas for less than $219 - and some days it's almost $500 - and if you were organised and got in now you could get to Sydney for $179 in August. Rex is also in the mix, but with similar challenges. Without a concession, the cheapest train ticket out of Wagga to Sydney or Melbourne is around $67 one way. For what it's worth, I quite enjoy the XPT and it's my preferred way to get to Melbourne (if I was heading to Sydney, different story). But it's obscene the difference 130km and a state line can make - the alternative for a Melbourne journey is to drive to Albury and jump on the V/Line for about $15 return. It's easy to see why many Wagga families choose this option. For solo travellers by the time you factor in driving time, fuel, vehicle wear and tear and leaving the car for a night or two, the XPT's siren song is singing. I've turned everything I was already doing into frequent flyer points, for the times I can't make anything else work transport-wise. I've boosted every supermarket rewards offer that hit my inbox and watched for accommodation deals like a hawk. I've boarded the XPT to Melbourne at 2.30am, carpooled to Canberra, scored last-minute lifts to the V/Line, cashed in those points. I've fit in NRL games, wrestling, the Melbourne Comedy Festival. Tyler Childers, Randy Houser, Chris Stapleton (what a birthday present), Luke Combs, and at least Bliss n Eso, Oasis and Usher to come. The Oasis purchase in particular racked me with guilt. Yet I'd paid utilities bills and didn't feel a twinge of regret. No one ever beats themselves up about that. The feeling of being in the crowd - whether it's from the pit, a seat or the nosebleeds - is unquantifiable and something everyone should be able to enjoy. Even if it takes a bit more planning than it should. I'm chronically aware many others face this travel dilemma constantly, and for more than just one person, for far more serious reasons. For me, it's all short-term, it's only for a year or so, and looking back on who I've seen in the last eight months alone, there's not a single regret - other than not having done it sooner, and maybe not all at once. It's just a shame the regional tax that comes with it is so harsh. Voice of Real Australia is a regular newsletter from the local news teams of the ACM network, which stretches into every state and territory. Today's is written by Daily Advertiser deputy editor Daisy Huntly. Last year I made a decision: I was going to do more in 2025. Off the back of the COVID years, the never-ending crunch of the news cycle, an increasingly miserable state cost of work, family and paying the bills, I wasn't really factoring myself in. We spend so much of our lives doing what we think we should do, or what others expect of us, rather than finding the balance when and how we can. So as long as the bills were paid and I was squirrelling even a little bit away, I should have some things to look forward to, right? Great plan. The limitations and logistics of public transport in regional NSW have made for some creative travel plans for the sake of efficiency and stretching a buck. Wagga is absolutely not alone in this - in many ways, it's ideally-placed geographically - and those in regional centres and rural communities know the angst well. I also wasn't expecting the surge of musicians and comedians I love making long-awaited visits Down Under. The cost of live gigs aside, it is increasingly expensive to be a music fan while living anywhere outside a capital city. The tickets are nothing compared to what having one incurs. For a one-way flight out of Wagga, you rarely see change from $200 unless it's booked well ahead of time. As I type this, there are just 12 days of July 2025 you could fly to Melbourne with Qantas for less than $219 - and some days it's almost $500 - and if you were organised and got in now you could get to Sydney for $179 in August. Rex is also in the mix, but with similar challenges. Without a concession, the cheapest train ticket out of Wagga to Sydney or Melbourne is around $67 one way. For what it's worth, I quite enjoy the XPT and it's my preferred way to get to Melbourne (if I was heading to Sydney, different story). But it's obscene the difference 130km and a state line can make - the alternative for a Melbourne journey is to drive to Albury and jump on the V/Line for about $15 return. It's easy to see why many Wagga families choose this option. For solo travellers by the time you factor in driving time, fuel, vehicle wear and tear and leaving the car for a night or two, the XPT's siren song is singing. I've turned everything I was already doing into frequent flyer points, for the times I can't make anything else work transport-wise. I've boosted every supermarket rewards offer that hit my inbox and watched for accommodation deals like a hawk. I've boarded the XPT to Melbourne at 2.30am, carpooled to Canberra, scored last-minute lifts to the V/Line, cashed in those points. I've fit in NRL games, wrestling, the Melbourne Comedy Festival. Tyler Childers, Randy Houser, Chris Stapleton (what a birthday present), Luke Combs, and at least Bliss n Eso, Oasis and Usher to come. The Oasis purchase in particular racked me with guilt. Yet I'd paid utilities bills and didn't feel a twinge of regret. No one ever beats themselves up about that. The feeling of being in the crowd - whether it's from the pit, a seat or the nosebleeds - is unquantifiable and something everyone should be able to enjoy. Even if it takes a bit more planning than it should. I'm chronically aware many others face this travel dilemma constantly, and for more than just one person, for far more serious reasons. For me, it's all short-term, it's only for a year or so, and looking back on who I've seen in the last eight months alone, there's not a single regret - other than not having done it sooner, and maybe not all at once. It's just a shame the regional tax that comes with it is so harsh. Voice of Real Australia is a regular newsletter from the local news teams of the ACM network, which stretches into every state and territory. Today's is written by Daily Advertiser deputy editor Daisy Huntly. Last year I made a decision: I was going to do more in 2025. Off the back of the COVID years, the never-ending crunch of the news cycle, an increasingly miserable state cost of work, family and paying the bills, I wasn't really factoring myself in. We spend so much of our lives doing what we think we should do, or what others expect of us, rather than finding the balance when and how we can. So as long as the bills were paid and I was squirrelling even a little bit away, I should have some things to look forward to, right? Great plan. The limitations and logistics of public transport in regional NSW have made for some creative travel plans for the sake of efficiency and stretching a buck. Wagga is absolutely not alone in this - in many ways, it's ideally-placed geographically - and those in regional centres and rural communities know the angst well. I also wasn't expecting the surge of musicians and comedians I love making long-awaited visits Down Under. The cost of live gigs aside, it is increasingly expensive to be a music fan while living anywhere outside a capital city. The tickets are nothing compared to what having one incurs. For a one-way flight out of Wagga, you rarely see change from $200 unless it's booked well ahead of time. As I type this, there are just 12 days of July 2025 you could fly to Melbourne with Qantas for less than $219 - and some days it's almost $500 - and if you were organised and got in now you could get to Sydney for $179 in August. Rex is also in the mix, but with similar challenges. Without a concession, the cheapest train ticket out of Wagga to Sydney or Melbourne is around $67 one way. For what it's worth, I quite enjoy the XPT and it's my preferred way to get to Melbourne (if I was heading to Sydney, different story). But it's obscene the difference 130km and a state line can make - the alternative for a Melbourne journey is to drive to Albury and jump on the V/Line for about $15 return. It's easy to see why many Wagga families choose this option. For solo travellers by the time you factor in driving time, fuel, vehicle wear and tear and leaving the car for a night or two, the XPT's siren song is singing. I've turned everything I was already doing into frequent flyer points, for the times I can't make anything else work transport-wise. I've boosted every supermarket rewards offer that hit my inbox and watched for accommodation deals like a hawk. I've boarded the XPT to Melbourne at 2.30am, carpooled to Canberra, scored last-minute lifts to the V/Line, cashed in those points. I've fit in NRL games, wrestling, the Melbourne Comedy Festival. Tyler Childers, Randy Houser, Chris Stapleton (what a birthday present), Luke Combs, and at least Bliss n Eso, Oasis and Usher to come. The Oasis purchase in particular racked me with guilt. Yet I'd paid utilities bills and didn't feel a twinge of regret. No one ever beats themselves up about that. The feeling of being in the crowd - whether it's from the pit, a seat or the nosebleeds - is unquantifiable and something everyone should be able to enjoy. Even if it takes a bit more planning than it should. I'm chronically aware many others face this travel dilemma constantly, and for more than just one person, for far more serious reasons. For me, it's all short-term, it's only for a year or so, and looking back on who I've seen in the last eight months alone, there's not a single regret - other than not having done it sooner, and maybe not all at once. It's just a shame the regional tax that comes with it is so harsh.
Sky News AU
01-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Sky News AU
Tommy Little fuels romance rumours with Hit Network co-star Carrie Bickmore after making major lifestyle change for her cause
Tommy Little has continued to fuel romance rumours with his Hit Network co-cost Carrie Bickmore after he made major lifestyle changes for her. On Sunday, the 40-year-old comedian took to Instagram to announce he quit vaping and plans to lose 10kgs ahead of The Big Five Marathon in South Africa for Bickmore's Beanies 4 Brain Cancer charity on June 14. Little joked he ran 13.3 km but not quickly because he was a 'doughy boy" as he prepared for the feat in his home city of Melbourne. 'We are seven weeks out from The Big Five Marathon in South Africa. I just ran 13.3 km. Not quick because I am a doughy boy,' the radio star said in a video. 'I weighed myself this week. I weigh 86kg, which might not sound like that much, but the only time I ran a marathon, I weighed 70kg. So I am 16kg over my previous running weight. 'I'm trying the best I can. I don't think I'm going to be breaking any PBs (personal best), but I've quit vaping for the 42nd time this week. I did three runs. A couple sessions in the gym.' In the caption, Little said he was doing his best to raise money for Bickmore's cause and encouraged his 300,000 followers to donate. 'I plan to lose at least 10kgs and work my ass off for the next 7 weeks, anyone who wants to get involved is more than welcome,' he said. Bickmore encouraged her co-star in the comments, which ignited his banter-fuelled response. 'Yes, Tommy!!!!! Yes!!!! You got this,' she said 'You're stoned again, aren't you?' Little said with a love heart emoji. The co-stars have fanned romance rumours since Bickmore split from her second husband, Chris Walker, in January 2023. The pair were together for more than a decade and share two daughters, Evie and Adelaide. Carrie also has a son Oliver from her first relationship with Greg Lange, who died of brain cancer in 2010. She and Little's infamous flirty on-air rapport gained attention, and the speculation they are an item hasn't relented. Little addressed the gossip directly at The Roast of Carrie Bickmore during the Melbourne Comedy Festival in March. "There have been romance rumours about Carrie and I, but unfortunately, because Carrie is in my age bracket (my Tinder age bracket is legal to dead), but I'm not in Carrie's age bracket," he said. "She only likes much older, powerful men." He also playfully swiped at her beauty, saying, "Carrie looks better and better, and if you want to know what's her secret—cosmetic surgery." Little, who split from ex-girlfriend Natalie Kyriacou in 2021, recently doubled down on his affection for Bickmore. "She's one of my best mates," he told TV Weekly. "My co-host is brilliant…She's so good at what she does," he said. Bickmore returned serve at Little's I'm Not Proud show at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival earlier this month The veteran presenter took to Instagram Stories to share a photo of her co-star mid-performance and wrote "5-star review" with a hand clapping and star emoji.
NZ Herald
26-04-2025
- Entertainment
- NZ Herald
Comedian Anisa Nandaula's first impression of NZ: ‘This is like Australia, but a lot nicer'
'Rockhampton, it's like a farming town. It's not diverse whatsoever. So whenever I saw a non-white person, it really like warmed my heart. I think the first one I saw [that] was mixed black and white [was] a cow. But it still warmed my heart. So that's the level of Caucasianess in Rockhampton.' At the age of 8, she made the move to Australia with her single Muslim mother. The only thing she knew about Australia was Steve Irwin, she says. 'I expected that everyone was going to be rich and I thought the minute that I landed in Australia I would have $1 million in my bank account. Like that's what I thought would happen. 'And no, that obviously wasn't the case, but I was still in awe of everything like the roads were perfectly smooth. So many McDonald's. 'When I got here, the kangaroos looked a lot sadder than they did on TV... The koalas looked about the same because they're just expressionless.' In her set, she recounts the story of seeing a redhead for the first time at her primary school. But the feelings didn't appear to be reciprocated, she says. 'I'd never seen someone with freckles. I'd never seen someone with bright orange hair. I was so mesmerised by him, so I couldn't stop staring at him. I also think that it was, I guess, an introduction into Australian life because he was not so happy to see me, but I was very happy to see him and learning to navigate that relationship.' It was through those challenges and bizarre incidents that she managed to find humour 'to survive and to stay sane'. 'Like I remember we were at Woolworths and my mum was telling the lady in the line that there's no Africans in this town whatsoever and the lady was like, 'yes, there is, my son goes to school with a black boy, there he is'. 'And then we turned around and my brother comes walking up. Yeah, you just have to laugh. So I think it made me funny and humour is the way that I deal with life.' Nandaula has been nominated for best newcomer at the Melbourne Comedy Festival and will perform three Auckland shows for the New Zealand International Comedy Festival during May. Although her show is called You Can't Say That, audiences can expect she 'will be saying all the things in the funniest way possible'. 'I guess an example for me is I went to school in Australia and teachers would always come up to me and say 'no hat, no play'. I was like, 'I'm black, go away', and I'm pretty sure I can say that.' She recently quit her job at a bank, which she says she's happy to have done because she can now make jokes about her experiences there. 'It was a very difficult choice to make. I remember talking to my manager and my manager was like, 'yeah, you should quit' [but] I just could not pull the plug. 'It took so long, and I was very lucky to get the TV show Taskmaster and then my manager was like you'd be crazy to keep staying in your job. So yeah, it was a lot of fear.' Previously, she had another creative job, working as a poet but she shifted from that about six years ago when work dwindled during the pandemic. She thought she would give comedy a crack – transforming the same material about race and identity into comedy gold. 'I think it's just the ability to make people feel joy. It's such a powerful and special feeling. It's really unexplainable to say something that will instantly change someone's mood and make them feel joyful. 'The comedy club is like a space of escapism for me, for the audience, it's beautiful.'
RNZ News
24-04-2025
- Entertainment
- RNZ News
Indian comedian turns Cantonese into his comedic ‘superpower'
Vivek Mahbubani was born to Indian parents in Hong Kong. Photo: Supplied Vivek Mahbubani learned Cantonese after his parents insisted he do so but over time, he's turned the language into his "superpower", performing full stand-up comedy sets in Cantonese. Mahbubani, 42, was born and raised in Hong Kong after his family moved to the city in the 1970s. "My parents sent me and my sister to a Chinese school so we could learn Cantonese. It sounds simple, but it was way more complex than that," said Mahbubani, who is in Auckland this week for a show at Q Theatre on Thursday. By the time he reached Grade Nine, Mahbubani said he had become semi-fluent in Cantonese - a skill that opened many doors. But it wasn't always easy. "There were times when I really didn't like my identity, mostly because, you know, like there's negative consequences of exercising brown skin in Hong Kong as well," he recalled. Things began to shift when he fully embraced his identity during university. "I love the idea that I couldn't fit in. I love the idea that, you know, in a group of people, you're definitely going to notice me. So that in itself became my superpower," he said. Mahbubani said comedy began as a coping mechanism but eventually evolved into something more. "I realised I'm pretty good at this," he said, adding that the American sitcom Seinfeld was a huge influence and inspired him to try stand-up. In 2007, he got his first big break when he competed in a comedy competition in Hong Kong - an event that launched his career. "I still have a video of that show with me," he said with a grin. Mahbubani now performs internationally in both English and Cantonese. "It helps me build a bridge between two cultures," he said. He's currently on a comedy tour across Australia and New Zealand. "I came here last year and although it was my first time ever in New Zealand, I was only here for less than 24 hours. I did a show and then went back," he said. This time, he's spending a few more days in Auckland before heading back to Australia. Vivek Mahbubani (third from left) said he became semi-fluent in Cantonese by the time he reached grade nine. Photo: Supplied He said the comedy scenes in Australia and New Zealand were very different from Hong Kong. "I was blown away when I went to the Melbourne Comedy Festival in 2015," he said. "Here's this kid from Hong Kong thinking, oh, I'm one of the top guys in Hong Kong. You give me this, this superstar's going to come down to Melbourne - only to realise, my goodness, the Melbourne Comedy Festival is a beast in itself," Mahbubani said. He noted that in Australia and New Zealand, comedy is more socially accepted as a profession compared to Hong Kong. Mahbubani's long-term goal is to perform in both English and Cantonese around the world. "A lot of comedians from Asia, we go around the world and we're usually having to perform in English. However, I always say, you know, our own Asian languages are quite funny," he said. "There's a certain beauty in being able to hear a piece of home, or your own language, while you're living away. And there's a certain connection you build with people from different lives," he added. Mahbubani also noted the size of New Zealand's Chinese community and said he would love to return. He fondly recalled getting picked up from the airport in a Hong Kong-style taxi , which made him feel instantly at home. "I mean, the fact that I had that after being away from Hong Kong for three and a half weeks was just so good. It's like - yes, this feels like home. So that itself was cool," he said.
